TEA to highlight E. Texas school in case study

AUSTIN — Commissioner of Education Michael Williams announced today that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has identified 11 campuses across the state to take part in a best practices case studies project.

Each of the 11 campuses were designated by TEA as High Performing and High Progress Title I Reward School. All have proven successful in classroom efforts on campuses with a high percentage of students from economically disadvantaged families and high mobility rates.

Those selected to take part in this project include:

Amarillo ISD – Glenwood Elementary School
Austin ISD – Blackshear Elementary School
Brownsville ISD – Ortiz Elementary School
Castleberry ISD – Castleberry High School
Garland ISD – North Garland High School
Houston ISD – Park Place Elementary School
Los Fresnos CISD – Los Fresnos High School
Pittsburg ISD – Pittsburg Intermediate School
Uplift Education – Summit International – Middle Campus (Arlington)
Yes Prep Public Schools – Yes Prep - West (Houston)
Ysleta ISD – Glen Cove Elementary School
“Each campus has achieved success in the face of barriers that prove to be challenges for many schools in our state,” said Commissioner Williams. “By spotlighting their best practices, we seek to share their story in hopes of replicating that success.”

The case study project – which will be carried out by representatives from TEA and the Austin-based Texas Comprehensive Center at SEDL – will meet with members of each campus leadership team. In these meetings, field researchers will conduct interviews to learn more about a school’s improvement practices and successes. Interviews will be conducted with the principal, teachers and the district coordinator of school improvement. Other campus leaders may also be interviewed.

After site visits, researchers will utilize the information to develop campus highlight case studies. The final case studies will be available to all Texas school via the TEA website as well as distributed in Texas school improvement trainings.

The State of Texas secured a conditional waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for specific provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The High Performing and High Progress Reward Schools designation is part of that conditional waiver, as well as a requirement to spotlight the successes taking place on those campuses.

Earlier this year, TEA published a complete list of Title I Reward Schools in Texas. For more information about Title I Reward Schools and to view the list, please visit the TEA webpage at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ESEAFlex_Principle2.aspx.